Multi-panel organic light emitting display device

ABSTRACT

A multi-panel organic light emitting display device is disclosed that includes a plurality of display panels coupled to each other. Each of the plurality of display panels includes: a substrate including an active area and a non-active area; and a display unit including an organic light emitting element on the substrate. Each of the plurality of display panels also includes: a plurality of signal lines disposed on the substrate and electrically connected to the display unit; and a plurality of link lines disposed under the substrate. Each of the plurality of display panels further includes a plurality of side lines connecting the plurality of signal lines and the plurality of link lines. Each of the plurality of display panels also includes a driving circuit electrically connected to the plurality of link lines.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the priority of Korean Patent Application No.10-2018-0077281 filed on Jul. 3, 2018, in the Korean IntellectualProperty Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein byreference, in its entirety.

BACKGROUND Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a multi-panel organic light emittingdisplay device including a plurality of display panels.

Description of the Related Art

Display devices have been developed that can represent informationcontained in electrical information signals in the form of visualimages. Specific examples of the above-mentioned display devices includea liquid crystal display device (LCD), a plasma display panel device(PDP), a field emission display device (FED), an organic light emittingdisplay device (OLED), and the like.

Particularly, OLED devices are a type of self-luminous display devicewithout a separate light source, unlike LCDs. Thus, OLED devices can bemanufactured into a lightweight and thin form wherein the display isdriven with a low voltage. Also, OLED devices have preferable colorexpression ability, response speed, viewing angle, and contrast ratio(CR) compared to other known devices. Therefore, OLED devices have beendeveloped as a next-generation display device with large area and highresolution.

As a display device has been miniaturized, efforts have been made toreduce a bezel area in order to increase the size of an effectivedisplay area in the same area of the OLEDOLED display devices aregenerally equipped with a display panel including an active area whereimages are displayed and a non-active area (e.g. a bezel area) definedalong the circumference of the active area. A plurality of drivingcircuits are disposed in the non-active area and a printed circuit board(PCB) supplies control signals to the plurality of driving circuits. Asthe size of display devices, including OLED devices, has been reduced,efforts have been made to reduce the non-active area in order toincrease the effective display area in the same size of OLED display.However, known OLED devices include the driving circuits or a pluralityof link lines for electrically connecting the display panel and thedriving circuits in the non-active area, which creates limitations inminimizing the bezel area.

Meanwhile, multi-panel display devices have been implemented recently toprovide for display devices with larger screens. Multi-panel displaydevices typically include a plurality of display panels connected toeach other to increase the display area. For example, a super-largescreen can be implemented by tiling a plurality of organic lightemitting display panels. However, when a plurality of display panels areconnected to each other, a bezel area between adjacent display panelscan be seen by a user.

BRIEF SUMMARY

An object to be achieved by the present disclosure is to reduce the sizeof a bezel of an OLED device by reducing the size of a non-active area.

Another object to be achieved by the present disclosure is to provide amulti-panel OLED device which has a non-active area with a reduced size,such that a bezel area between display panels is not visible by a user.

Yet another object to be achieved by the present disclosure is toprovide a multi-panel display device in which a distance betweenoutermost pixels of adjacent display panels is the same as the distancebetween pixels in a display panel.

Objects of the present disclosure are not limited to the above-mentionedobjects, and other objects, which are not mentioned above, can beclearly understood by those skilled in the art from the followingdescriptions.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a multi-panel organiclight emitting display device includes a plurality of display panelsdisposed to be adjacent to each other. Each of the plurality of displaypanels includes: a base substrate including an active area and anon-active area surrounding the active area; and a display unitincluding an organic light emitting element disposed on a top surface ofthe base substrate. Each of the plurality of display panels alsoincludes: a plurality of signal lines disposed on the top surface of thebase substrate and electrically connected to the display unit; and aplurality of link lines disposed under the base substrate. Each of theplurality of display panels further includes a plurality of side linesdisposed on a side surface of the base substrate and connecting theplurality of signal lines and the plurality of link lines. Each of theplurality of display panels also includes a driving circuit disposedunder the base substrate and electrically connected to the plurality oflink lines.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a multi-panelorganic light emitting display device includes a plurality of displaypanels disposed to be adjacent to each other. Each of the plurality ofdisplay panels includes: a base substrate including an active area and anon-active area surrounding the active area; and a display unitincluding an organic light emitting element disposed on a top surface ofthe base substrate. Each of the plurality of display panels alsoincludes: an encapsulation substrate disposed on the display unit to beopposite to the base substrate; and a plurality of signal lines disposedon the top surface of the base substrate and electrically connected tothe display unit. Each of the plurality of display panels furtherincludes: a plurality of link lines disposed on a top surface of theencapsulation substrate and connected to a driving circuit; and aplurality of side lines disposed on a side surface of the base substrateand connecting the plurality of signal lines and the plurality of linklines.

Other detailed matters of the embodiments of the present disclosure areincluded in the detailed description and the drawings.

According to the present disclosure, a bezel area of a multi-panelorganic light emitting display device can be reduced.

According to the present disclosure, in a multi-panel organic lightemitting display device, the distance between outermost pixels ofadjacent display panels is reduced to the distance between pixels in adisplay panel. Because pixels are not visible to a user, a bezel areabetween the display panels is similarly not visible to a user.

According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a largedisplay device with excellent resolution.

According to the present disclosure, a large organic light emittingdisplay device can be implemented by increasing the intensity of asignal transferred from a printed circuit board to an organic lightemitting element.

The effects according to the present disclosure are not limited to thecontents exemplified above, and more various effects are included in thepresent specification.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects, features and other advantages of thepresent disclosure will be more clearly understood from the followingdetailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1A through FIG. 1F are schematic diagrams provided to explain amulti-panel organic light emitting display device according to anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B are schematic diagrams provided to explain amulti-panel organic light emitting display device according to anotherembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3A through FIG. 3D are schematic diagrams provided to explain amulti-panel organic light emitting display device with a display panelaccording to yet another embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B are schematic rear views provided to explain astructure of a driving circuit disposed on a surface of a substrate ofthe display panel of FIG. 3A through FIG. 3D;

FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B are schematic rear views provided to explain anotherembodiment of a structure of the driving circuit disposed on a surfaceof a substrate of a display panel;

FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B are schematic rear views provided to explain yetanother embodiment of a structure of a driving circuit disposed on asurface of a substrate of a display panel;

FIG. 7A through FIG. 7D are schematic diagrams provided to explain amulti-panel organic light emitting display device according to yetanother embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B are schematic cross-sectional views provided toexplain a link structure between a side line and a signal line in amulti-panel organic light emitting display device including a topemission display panel; and

FIG. 9A and FIG. 9B are schematic cross-sectional views provided toexplain a link structure between a side line and a signal line in amulti-panel organic light emitting display device including a bottomemission display panel.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The advantages and characteristics of the present disclosure and amethod of achieving the advantages and characteristics will be clear byreferring to the embodiments described below in detail together with theaccompanying drawings. However, the present disclosure is not limited tothe embodiments disclosed herein but will be implemented in variousforms. The embodiments are provided by way of example only so that aperson with ordinary skill in the art can fully understand thedisclosures of the present disclosure and the scope of the presentdisclosure. Therefore, the present disclosure will be defined only bythe scope of the appended claims.

The shapes, sizes, ratios, angles, numbers, and the like illustrated inthe accompanying drawings for describing the exemplary embodiments ofthe present disclosure are merely examples, and the present disclosureis not limited thereto. Like reference numerals generally denote likeelements throughout the specification. Further, in the followingdescription of the present disclosure, a detailed explanation of knownrelated technologies may be omitted to avoid unnecessarily obscuring thesubject matter of the present disclosure. The terms such as “including,”“having,” and “consist of” used herein are generally intended to allowother components to be added unless the terms are used with the term“only.” Any references to singular may include plural unless expresslystated otherwise.

Components are interpreted to include an ordinary error range even ifnot expressly stated.

When the position relation between two parts is described using theterms such as “on,” “above,” “below,” and “next,” one or more parts maybe positioned between the two parts unless the terms are used with theterm “immediately” or “directly.”

When an element or layer is disposed “on” another element or layer,another layer or another element may be interposed directly on the otherelement or therebetween.

Although the terms “first,” “second,” and the like are used fordescribing various components, these components are not confined bythese terms. These terms are merely used for distinguishing onecomponent from the other components. Therefore, a first component to bementioned below may be a second component in a technical concept of thepresent disclosure.

Like reference numerals generally denote like elements throughout thespecification.

A size and a thickness of each component illustrated in the drawing areillustrated for convenience of description, and the present disclosureis not limited to the size and the thickness of the componentillustrated.

The features of various embodiments of the present disclosure can bepartially or entirely adhered to or combined with each other and can beinterlocked and operated in technically various ways, and theembodiments can be carried out independently of or in association witheach other.

Hereinafter, a display device according to exemplary embodiments of thepresent disclosure will be described in detail with reference toaccompanying drawings.

FIG. 1A through FIG. 1F are schematic diagrams provided to explain amulti-panel organic light emitting display device according to anembodiment of the present disclosure. Specifically, FIG. 1A is aschematic plan view provided to explain a multi-panel organic lightemitting display device according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure. FIG. 1B is a schematic enlarged plan view of an area X ofFIG. 1A. FIG. 1C is a schematic cross-sectional view as taken along aline I-I′ of FIG. 1B. FIG. 1D is a schematic top view of a firstsubstrate of a first display panel in the multi-panel organic lightemitting display device illustrated in FIG. 1A. FIG. 1E is a schematicrear view of the first substrate of the first display panel in themulti-panel organic light emitting display device illustrated in FIG.1A. FIG. 1F is a schematic side view of the first display panel in themulti-panel organic light emitting display device illustrated in FIG.1A.

Referring to FIG. 1A through FIG. 1F, a multi-panel organic lightemitting display device 1000 according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure includes a plurality of display panels coupled to each other.The plurality of display panels may be disposed in the form of an m×ntile array to implement the multi-panel organic light emitting displaydevice 1000. FIG. 1A illustrates that 20 display panels are disposed inthe form of a 5×4 tile array, for convenience of description. In oneembodiment, each of the panels are adjacent to each other, as describedbelow with reference to FIG. 1B. However, the present disclosure is notlimited thereto. The number of display panels and their arrangementrelative to one another can be selected.

Referring to FIG. 1B illustrating the area X of FIG. 1A, a plurality ofdisplay panels 100A, 100B, 100D, and 100D may be disposed in contactwith each other and adjacent each other vertically or horizontally. Forexample, the plurality of display panels includes a first display panel100A, a second display panel 100B, a third display panel 100C, and afourth display panel 100D. The first display panel 100A and the seconddisplay panel 100B are disposed to be in contact with each otherhorizontally, and the first display panel 100A and the third displaypanel 100C are disposed to be in contact with each other vertically.

FIG. 1C illustrates a cross-sectional view of a contact portion betweenthe first display panel 100A and the second display panel 100B.Referring to FIG. 1C, the first display panel 100A is equipped with afirst substrate 110, a display unit 120, a second substrate 130, and asealant 140. Further, the first display panel 100A is equipped with aplurality of signal lines 150, a plurality of link lines 160, aplurality of side lines 170, and an insulating layer 180. Herein, theother display panels, such as display panels 100B, 100C, 100D, as wellas the remaining panels shown in FIG. 1A, may be configured identical tothe first display panel 100A, or may be configured differently.

The first substrate 110 serves as a base substrate for supportingvarious components of the display panel 100A and may be an insulatingsubstrate. For example, the first substrate 110 may be formed of glassor plastic. In some embodiments, the first substrate 110 may be formedof a material having flexibility so that the first substrate 110 can bebent as necessary. In one embodiment, the first substrate 110 includes atop surface 102 (e.g. in the orientation shown in FIG. 1C) opposite arear surface 104, wherein the top surface 102 may also be referred to asa first surface and the rear surface may also be referred to as a secondsurface.

In the first substrate 110, an active area AA and a non-active area NAsurrounding the active area AA may be defined. In FIG. 1D, a boundarybetween the active area AA and the non-active area NA is indicated withdashed lines. The active area AA is a region where images are actuallydisplayed in the display panel 100A. The display unit 120 to bedescribed later may be disposed in the active area AA. The non-activearea NA is a region where images are not displayed and may be defined asa region surrounding the active area AA. Various lines such as gatelines GL and data lines DL connected to a thin film transistor (TFT) ofthe display unit 120 in the active area AA may be disposed in thenon-active area NA. Further, a driving circuit, e.g., a data drivingintegrated circuit (IC) chip or a gate driving IC chip, and a pluralityof pads may be disposed in the non-active area NA. However, the presentdisclosure is not limited thereto.

A plurality of pixels PX is defined in the active area AA of the firstsubstrate 110. Each of the plurality of pixels PX is an individual unitthat emits light. The plurality of pixels PX may include a red pixel, agreen pixel, and a blue pixel, but is not limited thereto. The displayunit 120 is disposed on each of the plurality of pixels PX.

The display unit 120 displays an image. In one embodiment, an organiclight emitting element and a circuit unit for driving the organic lightemitting element are included in the display unit 120. Specifically, theorganic light emitting element includes an anode, a plurality of organiclayers, and a cathode to emit light by combining electrons and holes.The plurality of organic layers may include a hole injection layer(HIL), a hole transport layer (HTL), an emitting layer (EML), anelectron transport layer (ETL), and an electron injection layer (EIL),but is not limited thereto. Further, the circuit unit may include aplurality of TFTs, a capacitor, and a plurality of lines to drive theorganic light emitting element.

Meanwhile, in the multi-panel organic light emitting display device 1000shown in FIG. 1A through FIG. 1F, the display panel 100A may be of topemission type in which light from the organic light emitting element isemitted toward a top side of the first substrate 110 in the orientationshown in FIG. 1C, for example. In the top emission display panel, thecircuit unit may be disposed on the first substrate 110 and the organiclight emitting element may be disposed on the circuit unit. Morespecifically, the TFT may be disposed on the first substrate 110, aplanarization layer may be disposed on the TFT, and the anode, theplurality of organic layers including the EML and the cathode may belaminated in sequence on the planarization layer.

Since the display panel 100A is of top emission type, the anode includesa reflective layer and a transparent conductive layer. The reflectivelayer may be formed of a material having excellent reflexibility, e.g.,silver (Ag) or an Ag-containing alloy. The transparent conductive layermay be formed of a transparent conductive material, e.g., indium tinoxide (ITO)-, indium zinc oxide (IZO)-, indium tin zinc oxide (ITZO)-,zinc oxide (ZnO)-, and tin oxide (TiO)-based transparent conductiveoxides (TCO). Like the transparent conductive layer, the cathode may beformed of a TCO.

FIG. 1C further shows the second substrate 130 disposed on the displayunit 120, opposite to the first substrate 110. Specifically, the displayunit 120 is on the first or top surface 102 of the first substrate 110and the second substrate 130 is on the display unit. In one embodiment,the second substrate 130 is on a top surface of the display unit 120.The second substrate 130 serves as an encapsulation plate and protectsthe organic light emitting element of the display unit 120 againstmoisture, air, or physical impacts, which may permeate from the outside.The second substrate 130 may comprise one or more of, for example,glass, metal foil, and plastic film. Herein, the encapsulation plate isalso referred to as an encapsulation substrate. In one embodiment, thesecond substrate 130 may not have a glass or plate form but may be anencapsulation layer formed by coating an organic material or aninorganic material. Herein, the encapsulation layer may be formed ofvarious inorganic materials such as silicon nitride (SiNx), siliconoxide (SiOx), silicon oxide nitride (SiON), and the like. Otherwise, theencapsulation layer may be formed of organic materials such aspolystyrene resin, acryl resin, epoxy resin, urea resin, isocyanateresin, xylene resin, and the like.

The sealant 140 is disposed between the first substrate 110 and thesecond substrate 130 in the non-active area NA. The sealant 140 isdisposed to surround the periphery of the display unit 120 and bonds thefirst substrate 110 to the second substrate 130. The sealant 140 servesto suppress permeation of moisture and oxygen through a side surface ofthe display panel 100A and thus may be referred to as a dam. In oneembodiment, the sealant may not be provided if the second substrate 130does not have a glass or plate form but is an encapsulation layer formedby coating an organic material or an inorganic material.

Referring to FIG. 1C, the plurality of signal lines 150 are disposed ona top surface 102 of the first substrate 110 and the plurality of linklines 160 are disposed on a rear surface 104 of the first substrate 110.The plurality of signal lines 150 are electrically connected tocomponents of the display unit 120 to transfer signals to the displayunit 120. The plurality of link lines 160 serve to connect the pluralityof signal lines 150 disposed on the first surface 102 of the firstsubstrate 110 to the driving circuit.

Specifically, referring to FIG. 1D, which illustrates the top surface102 of the first substrate 110, the plurality of signal lines 150 aredisposed on the top surface 102 of the first substrate 110 and mayinclude a plurality of gate lines GL and a plurality of data lines DL.The plurality of gate lines GL and the plurality of data lines DL areconnected to the TFT of the display unit 120 disposed in the active areaAA to transfer gate signals and data signals, respectively.

Referring to FIG. 1E, which illustrates the rear surface 104 of thefirst substrate 110, the plurality of link lines 160 are disposed on therear surface 104 of the first substrate 110 and may include a pluralityof gate link lines GLL and a plurality of data link lines DLL. Theplurality of gate link lines GLL serve to connect the plurality of gatelines GL disposed on the top surface 102 of the first substrate 110 to agate driving circuit. Also, the plurality of data link lines DLL serveto connect the plurality of data lines DL disposed on the top surface102 of the first substrate 110 to a data driving circuit. The pluralityof gate link lines GLL and the plurality of data link lines DLL may beextended from an end or outermost edge of the rear surface 104 of thefirst substrate 110 toward a center of the rear surface 104 of the firstsubstrate 110.

Referring to FIG. 1C, each of the plurality of signal lines 150 mayinclude a first pad PAD1, and each of the plurality of link lines 160may include a second pad PAD2. The first pad PAD1 is a region in contactwith the side line 170 to be described later. Herein, the first pad PAD1may be a metal layer extended from the plurality of signal lines 150,and the second pad PAD2 may be a metal layer extended from the pluralityof link lines 160.

In one embodiment, one of the gate driving circuit electricallyconnected to the plurality of gate link lines GLL or the data drivingcircuit electrically connected to the plurality of data link lines DLLmay be disposed on the rear surface 104 of the first substrate 110.Otherwise, both the gate driving circuit and the data driving circuitmay be disposed on the rear surface 104 of the first substrate 110.Herein, the gate driving circuit and the data driving circuit may bemounted directly on the rear surface of the first substrate 110 by achip on glass (COG) method. Otherwise, the gate driving circuit and thedata driving circuit may be disposed on the rear surface 104 of thefirst substrate 110 by a chip on film (COF) method. Meanwhile, thedriving circuit may be connected to a printed circuit board (PCB). ThePCB may transfer various signals to the plurality of signal lines 150and the display unit 120 disposed on the first substrate 110. The layoutof the gate driving circuit and the data driving circuit will bedescribed in more detail with reference to FIG. 4A through FIG. 6B.

Referring to FIG. 1C, the plurality of side lines 170 are disposed on aside surface 106 of the first substrate 110. The plurality of side lines170 serve to electrically connect the plurality of signal lines 150disposed on the top surface 102 of the first substrate 110 to theplurality of link lines 160 disposed on the rear surface 104 of thefirst substrate 110. The plurality of side lines 170 are disposed tocover ends of the plurality of signal lines 150 disposed on the topsurface 102 of the first substrate 110, the side surface 106 of thefirst substrate 110, and ends of the plurality of link lines 160disposed on the rear surface 104 of the first substrate 110. That is,the plurality of side lines 170 are disposed to continuously cover thefirst pads PAD1 of the plurality of signal lines 150, the side surface106 of the first substrate 110, and the second pads PAD2 of theplurality of link lines 160.

More specifically, the plurality of side lines 170 may include a firstside line that connects the gate line GL on the top surface 102 of thefirst substrate 110 to the gate link line GLL on the rear surface 104 ofthe first substrate 110. Further, the plurality of side lines 170 mayinclude a second side line that connects the data line DL on the topsurface 102 of the first substrate 110 to the data link line DLL on therear surface 104 of the first substrate 110.

In one embodiment, the plurality of side lines 170 include a patternedmetal layer to connect the corresponding signal lines 150 and link lines160, respectively. The patterned metal layer may be formed of aconductive material such as Silver (Ag), or the like.

Specifically, the plurality of side lines 170 may be formed by lasertransfer printing. For example, the plurality of side lines 170 may beformed by irradiating a laser onto a base member on which a metaltransfer layer is formed to transfer the metal transfer layer onto theside surface of the first substrate 110. Herein, the metal transferlayer may be formed of a conductive material such as Ag, or the like.

Herein, the side line 170 may have a greater or smaller width than thesignal line 150 and the link line 160. Preferably, the side line 170 hasa greater width than the signal line 150 and the link line 160 toincrease a contact area between the lines.

The insulating layer 180 is formed to cover the plurality of side lines170. The insulating layer 180 is preferably a black colored material soas to cover the side lines 170, and, thus, hide the side lines 170. Inone embodiment, the side lines 170 are not visible by a user facing thethird surface 106 of the first substrate 110. If the plurality of sidelines 170 are formed of a metal material, external light may bereflected from the plurality of side lines 170, or light emitted fromthe display unit 120 may be reflected from the plurality of side lines170. Thus, the side lines 170 can be seen by a user. Accordingly, theinsulating layer 180 formed of the black colored material is disposed tocover the plurality of side lines 170 to overcome the same.

Referring to FIG. 1D and FIG. 1E, the insulating layer 180 is disposedon the top surface 102 of the first substrate 110 so as to cover atleast a part of the non-active area NA. The insulating layer 180 isdisposed continuously along an edge of the first substrate 110 so as tosurround the top surface 102 and the side surface 106 of the firstsubstrate 110. Likewise, the insulating layer 180 is disposedcontinuously along the edge of the first substrate 110 so as to surroundthe entire side surface 106 of the first substrate 110. That is, theinsulating layer 180 may be formed of a single layer that covers all ofthe plurality of side lines 170. In one embodiment, the insulating layer180 comprises a resin, a polymer, a thermoplastic, or the like.

Herein, the insulating layer 180 may be disposed to cover a part of theplurality of signal lines 150, i.e., the gate lines GL and the datalines DL, disposed on the top surface 102 of the first substrate 110.The insulating layer 180 may also be disposed to cover a part of theplurality of link lines 160, i.e., the gate link lines GLL and the datalink lines DLL, disposed on the rear surface 104 of the first substrate110. Further, the insulating layer 180 is disposed on the side surfaceof the first substrate 110 where the gate lines GL and the data lines DLare not disposed and thus can further suppress reflection of externallight.

Referring to FIG. 1C, in the display panel 100A included in themulti-panel organic light emitting display device 1000 according to anembodiment of the present disclosure, various drivers such as the gatedriving circuit or the data driving circuit are disposed on the rearsurface 104 of the first substrate 110. Also, the PCB is disposed on therear surface 104 of the first substrate 110. Thus, the non-active areaNA can be reduced. As a result, with the above-described configuration,a bezel area of the display panel 100A can be reduced.

By reducing the bezel area of the display panel 100A, a bezel area ofadjacent displays 100A, 100B in the multi-panel organic light emittingdisplay device 1000 may be reduced so that the combined bezel area issmall enough that it is not visible by the user.

In the multi-panel organic light emitting display device 1000, thedistance between outermost pixels of the adjacent display panels 100Aand 100B is generally greater than the distance between pixels in thedisplay panel 100A due to the size of the bezel area of the displaypanel 100A. Therefore, the distance between pixels in the display panel100A is different from the distance between pixels in a contact portionbetween the display panels 100A and 100B. Thus, the bezel area betweenthe display panels can be more clearly seen by the user, and when asuper-large screen is implemented using the display panels, it looksunnatural and inharmonious. If the distance between pixels in thedisplay panel 100A is increased to be the same as the distance betweenoutermost pixels of the adjacent display panels in order for the bezelarea between the display panels not to be seen, the resolution of thedisplay device may be degraded.

In the multi-panel organic light emitting display device 1000 accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure, the bezel areas of thedisplay panels 100A and 100B can be reduced. Thus, the distance betweenoutermost pixels of the adjacent display panels 100A and 100B can bereduced to the distance between pixels in the display panel 100A.Therefore, it is possible to implement a large display device in whichthe bezel area between the display panels 100A is not seen (e.g.,seamless) and which has high resolution.

More specifically, referring to FIG. 1B and FIG. 1C, in the multi-panelorganic light emitting display device 1000 according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure, a pitch P between pixels PX is the sum of a seamS between the outermost pixels of the adjacent display panels 100A and100B and a length of an emission area of the pixel PX. Herein, the seamS between the outermost pixels of the adjacent display panels is doublethe size B of the bezel area of the display panel 100A. In oneembodiment, the bezel area includes the non-active area NA of the firstsubstrate 110, the side lines 170, and the insulating layer 180. Themulti-panel organic light emitting display device 1000 according to anembodiment of the present disclosure can have a narrow bezel. Thus, theseam S between the outermost pixels of the adjacent display panels 100Aand 100B can be reduced. Therefore, the pitch P between the pixels canalso be reduced, and excellent resolution can be achieved without seamsbetween panels 100A, 100B.

FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B are schematic diagrams provided to explain amulti-panel organic light emitting display device according to anotherembodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 2A is a schematic top view ofthe first substrate 110 of a first display panel 200A in a multi-panelorganic light emitting display device according to another embodiment ofthe present disclosure. FIG. 2B is a schematic side view of the firstdisplay panel 200A in the multi-panel organic light emitting displaydevice according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. Themulti-panel organic light emitting display device in FIG. 2A and FIG. 2Bis similar to the multi-panel organic light emitting display device 1000shown in FIG. 1A through FIG. 1F except for the differences describedbelow, including with respect to the insulating layer 280. Therefore,redundant description will be omitted.

Referring to FIG. 2A, the insulating layer 280 may have a patternedstructure to cover each of the plurality of side lines 170 that ispatterned to connect the signal lines 150 to the link lines 160,respectively. As shown in FIG. 1E, the insulating layer 180 is formed asa single layer to cover all of the plurality of side lines 170 anddisposed continuously along the edge of the first substrate 110.However, the insulating layer 280 shown in FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B has aplurality of patterned insulating structures corresponding to therespective side lines 170. Referring to FIG. 2B, the first substrate 110and the sealant 140 are not covered in part by the insulating layer 280and thus are exposed to the external environment. More specifically, theinsulating layer 280 may include a plurality of first insulatingpatterns 281 covering the side lines 170 that connects the gate lines GLon the top surface 102 of the first substrate 110 and the gate linklines GLL on the rear surface 104 of the first substrate 110. Further,the insulating layer 280 may include a plurality of second insulatingpatterns 282 covering the side lines 170 that connects the data lines DLon the top surface 102 of the first substrate 110 and the data linklines DLL on the rear surface 104 of the first substrate 110.

As shown in FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B, if the insulating layer 280 haspatterned structures according to the plurality of side lines 170, theinsulating layer 280 and the side lines 170 may be formed continuouslyby laser transfer printing. Specifically, the side lines 170 may bepatterned on the side surface of the first substrate 110 and then, theinsulating layer 280 may be patterned on the side lines 170 disposed onthe side surface of the first substrate 110.

FIG. 3A through FIG. 3D are schematic diagrams provided to explain amulti-panel organic light emitting display device according to yetanother embodiment of the present disclosure. Specifically, FIG. 3A is aschematic cross-sectional view of a contact portion between a firstdisplay panel 300A and a second display panel 300B included in amulti-panel organic light emitting display device 3000 according to yetanother embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 3B is a schematicside view of the first display panel 300A of the multi-panel organiclight emitting display device 3000 according to yet another embodimentof the present disclosure. FIG. 3C is a schematic top view of the firstsubstrate 110 of the first display panel 300A shown in FIG. 3A. FIG. 3Dis a schematic rear view of a third substrate 390 of the first displaypanel 300A shown in FIG. 3A. The multi-panel organic light emittingdisplay device shown in FIG. 3A through FIG. 3D is similar to themulti-panel organic light emitting display device 1000 shown in FIG. 1Athrough FIG. 1F except for the differences described below, includingthat the third substrate 390 is further disposed on the rear surface 104of the first substrate 110, and, thus, the plurality of link lines 360,the plurality of side lines 170, and the insulating layer 180 areconfigured differently. Therefore, redundant description will beomitted.

Referring to FIG. 3A, the third substrate 390 is disposed on the rearsurface 104 of the first substrate 110. The third substrate 390 servesas an auxiliary substrate supporting components disposed on a lower sideof the display device and may be an insulating substrate. For example,the third substrate 390 may be formed of glass or resin. Further, thethird substrate 390 may contain a polymer or plastic. In one embodiment,the third substrate 390 is formed of the same material as the firstsubstrate 110.

The plurality of link lines 360 are disposed on a rear surface 392 ofthe third substrate 390. In one embodiment, the rear surface 392 is asecond surface opposite a first or top surface 394 of the thirdsubstrate 390. Specifically, the plurality of gate link lines GLL andthe plurality of data link lines DLL may be disposed on the rear surface392 of the third substrate 390.

An adhesive layer 395 is disposed between the first substrate 110 andthe third substrate 390. The adhesive layer 395 bonds the firstsubstrate 110 to the third substrate 390. The adhesive layer 395 may beformed of a material which can be cured by various curing methods tobond the first substrate 110 to the third substrate 390. The adhesivelayer 395 may be disposed in whole or only in part between the firstsubstrate 110 and the third substrate 390.

Herein, the size of the third substrate 390 may be equal to or smallerthan that of the first substrate 110. The size of the third substrate390 can be selected according to the kind and the structure of a drivingcircuit to be disposed on the rear surface 392 of the third substrate390. The size of the third substrate 390 and the layout of a drivingcircuit will be described later with reference to FIG. 4A through FIG.6B.

The multi-panel organic light emitting display device 3000 shown in FIG.3A through FIG. 3D has a merit of easiness in manufacturing each displaypanel, such as panel 300A or 300B, for example. Specifically, like themulti-panel organic light emitting display device 1000 shown in FIG. 1Athrough FIG. 1F, the multi-panel organic light emitting display device3000 may include the display panel 100A in which the display unit 120and the plurality of signal lines 150 are disposed on the top surface102 of the first substrate 110 and the link lines 360 and the drivingcircuit are disposed on the rear surface 104 of the first substrate 110.In this case, it is difficult to place the components on both surfaces102, 104 of the first substrate 110. However, the display unit 120 andthe signal lines 150 may be disposed on the first substrate 110 and thelink lines 360 and the driving circuit may be disposed on the thirdsubstrate 390 and then the first substrate 110 and the third substrate390 may be bonded to each other. This process is advantageous in termsof process stability and product reliability.

Hereafter, a structure of the driving circuit disposed on the rearsurface 392 of the third substrate 390 will be described.

FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B are schematic rear views provided to explain astructure of a driving circuit disposed on the rear surface 392 of thethird substrate 390 of the display panel 300A illustrated in FIG. 3Athrough FIG. 3D.

Beginning with FIG. 4A, a gate driving circuit (G-IC), a data drivingcircuit (D-IC), a flexible circuit film (FCF), and a printed circuitboard (PCB) are disposed on the rear surface 392 of the third substrate390.

In one embodiment, the G-IC and the D-IC are disposed on the rearsurface 392 of the third substrate 390 by the COG method. Morespecifically, the G-IC is directly connected to the gate link lines GLLand the D-IC is directly connected to the data link lines DLL, which aremounted directly on the rear surface 392 of the third substrate 390.

The FCF is disposed on the rear surface 392 of the third substrate 390and electrically connected to the D-IC. The FCF serves to transfervarious signals from the PCB to the D-IC. A plurality of lines may bedisposed on or within the FCF to electrically connect the PCB to theD-IC. One side of the FCF is connected to the rear surface 392 of thethird substrate 390 and the other side of the FCF is connected to thePCB. The FCF is a flexible insulating film and may be formed as aheat-resistant plastic film of a flexible material such as polyester(PET) or polyimide (PI).

The PCB serves to transfer various signals to the display unit 120through the plurality of link lines 160 disposed on the third substrate390. For example, a timing controller or the like may be disposed on thePCB. The timing controller may supply various signals to the D-ICthrough the FCF. For example, the timing controller may generate a datadriver control signal (DDC), a gate driver control signal (GDC), and thelike and supply them to the D-IC.

Turning to FIG. 4B, the G-IC, the D-IC, the FCF, and the PCB aredisposed on the rear surface 392 of the third substrate 390.

In this case, the G-IC and the D-IC are disposed on the rear surface 392of the third substrate 390 by the COF method. Specifically, each of theG-IC and the D-IC is disposed on the FCF and the FCF is disposeddirectly on the rear surface 392 of the third substrate 390.

In the same manner as in FIG. 4A, the G-IC is connected to the gate linklines GLL through the plurality of lines disposed on the FCF and theD-IC is connected to the data link lines DLL through the plurality oflines disposed on the FCF.

Referring to FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B, both the G-IC and the D-IC aredisposed on the rear surface 392 of the third substrate 390, and, thus,the third substrate 390 may be disposed to have the same size as thefirst substrate 110.

FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B are schematic rear views provided to explain anotherembodiment of a structure of a driving circuit on one or more substratesof a display panel. The display panels 500A, 500B shown in FIG. 5A andFIG. 5B is the same as the display panel 300A shown in FIG. 4A and FIG.4B except the layout of the circuits and the size of a third substrate590A, 590B, in addition to other differences described below. The thirdsubstrates 590A, 590B described with reference to FIG. 5A and FIG. 5Bhave a first or rear surface 592A, 592B, respectively. It is to beunderstood that the third substrates 590A, 590B may be similar to thethird substrate 390 except for the differences described below.Therefore, redundant description will be omitted.

Referring first to FIG. 5A, the FCF and the PCB are disposed on the rearsurface 104 of the first substrate 110. The D-IC is disposed on the rearsurface 592A of the third substrate 590A by the COG method andelectrically connected to the PCB through the FCF. In FIG. 5A, the datalink lines DLL and the driving circuit D-IC are disposed directly on therear surface 592A of the third substrate 590A.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5A, the G-IC is disposed on the topsurface 102 of the first substrate 110. For example, the G-IC may beimplemented using TFTs disposed in the non-active area NA of the firstsubstrate 110. This gate driving circuit may also be referred to as agate-in-panel (GIP). Otherwise, the G-IC may be disposed between aplurality of pixels in the active area AA of the first substrate 110.This gate driving circuit may also be referred to as a gate-in-activearea (GIA).

Turning to FIG. 5B, the D-IC, the FCF, and the PCB are disposed on therear surface 104 of the first substrate 110. Specifically, the D-IC isdisposed on the FCF by the COF method, wherein the FCF is disposed onthe rear surface 104 of the first substrate 110 to be electricallyconnected to the PCB.

As in FIG. 5A, the G-IC in FIG. 5B is disposed on the top surface 102 ofthe first substrate 110. In FIG. 5B, only the data link lines DLL aredisposed on the rear surface 592B of the third substrate 590B.

In one embodiment, such as in FIG. 5A, the D-IC and the data link linesDLL are disposed only on the rear surface 592A of the third substrate590A and the G-IC is disposed on the first substrate 110. Thus, thethird substrate 590A in FIG. 5A can be selected to have a size and ashape for accommodating the D-IC and the data link lines DLL. Becausethe D-IC and the data link lines DLL typically occupy less space thanthe other components, such as the PCB, the third substrate 590A has asmaller size than the first substrate 110 and the third substrate 390,compared to the embodiment shown in FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B, where the firstand third substrates 110, 390 have the same size. In one embodiment,such as in FIG. 5B, only the data link lines DLL are on the rear surface592B of the third substrate 590B. As such, the size and shape of thethird substrate 590B can be selected to be smaller than the thirdsubstrate 590A described with reference to FIG. 5A and the first andthird substrates 110, 390 described with reference to FIG. 4A and FIG.4B.

FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B are schematic rear views provided to explain yetanother structure of a driving circuit disposed on a substrate of adisplay panel. The display panels 600A, 600B shown in FIG. 6A and FIG.6B, respectively, are the same as the display panel 300A shown in FIG.4A and FIG. 4B except for a structure of the PCB and a size of thirdsubstrates 690A, 690B, as well as other differences described below.Each of the third substrates 690A, 690B include a first or rear surface692A, 692B, respectively. Therefore, redundant description will beomitted.

Referring first to FIG. 6A, the D-IC and a multiplexer (MUX) aredisposed on the rear surface 692A of the third substrate 690A.Specifically, the D-IC is mounted on the rear surface 692A of the thirdsubstrate 690A by the COG method and the MUX is disposed on the rearsurface 692A instead of the PCB.

As with FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B, the G-IC of the display panel 500B may bedisposed in the non-active area NA of the first substrate 110 by the GIPmethod or disposed in the active area AA of the first substrate 110 bythe GIA method.

Referring to FIG. 6B, the D-IC and the MUX are disposed on the rearsurface 692B of the third substrate 690B. Specifically, the FCF isdisposed on the rear surface 692B of the third substrate 690B and theD-IC is disposed on FCF by the COF method. The FCF is connected to theMUX and the D-IC is in electronic communication with the MUX via theFCF.

As with FIG. 6A, the G-IC of FIG. 6B is disposed on the top surface ofthe first substrate 110.

Referring to FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B, the MUX is disposed directly on therear surface 692A, 692B of the third substrate 690A, 690B. Thus, thethird substrate 690A, 690B may be selected to have a size correspondingto the MUX. Therefore, the third substrate 690A, 690B according to theembodiment shown in FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B may have a smaller size than thethird substrate 390 according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 4A andFIG. 4B in which the G-IC is disposed on the rear surface 392 of thethird substrate 390. However, the third substrate 690A, 690B accordingto the embodiment shown in FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B may have a greater sizethan the third substrate 590A, 590B according to the embodiment shown inFIG. 5A and FIG. 5B in which the separate PCB is disposed on the rearsurface 104 of the first substrate 110.

FIG. 7A through FIG. 7D are schematic diagrams provided to explain amulti-panel organic light emitting display device according to yetanother embodiment of the present disclosure. Specifically, FIG. 7A is aschematic cross-sectional view of a contact portion between a firstdisplay panel 700A and a second display panel 700B included in amulti-panel organic light emitting display device 7000 according to yetanother embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 7B is a schematicside view of the first display panel 700A shown in FIG. 7A. FIG. 7C is aschematic rear view of a first substrate 710 of the first display panel700A shown in FIG. 7A. FIG. 7D is a schematic top view of a secondsubstrate 730 of the first display panel 700A shown in FIG. 7A. Themulti-panel organic light emitting display device shown in FIG. 7Athrough FIG. 7D is the same as the multi-panel organic light emittingdisplay device 1000 shown in FIG. 1A through FIG. 1F, except for thedifferences described below, including that the display panel 700A is ofbottom emission type, and, thus, the first substrate 710, the secondsubstrate 730, a plurality of side lines 770, and an insulating layer780 are configured differently. Therefore, redundant description will beomitted.

Referring to FIG. 7A, the multi-panel organic light emitting displaydevice 7000 according to yet another embodiment of the presentdisclosure includes the bottom emission display panel 700A and thebottom emission display panel 700B. Specifically, each of the firstdisplay panel 700A and the second display panel 700B includes a firstsubstrate 710, a display unit 720 on the first substrate, a secondsubstrate 730 on the display unit 720, a sealant 740 between the firstand second substrates 710, 730, a plurality of signal lines 750, aplurality of link lines 760, a plurality of side lines 770, and theinsulating layer 780.

The display unit 720 is disposed on a top or first surface 702 of thefirst substrate 710. Herein, the display panel 700A is of bottomemission type in which light from an organic light emitting element isemitted toward a TFT. Specifically, the TFT may be disposed on the topsurface 702 of the first substrate 710, a planarization layer may bedisposed on the TFT, and an anode, a plurality of organic layersincluding an EML and a cathode may be laminated in sequence on theplanarization layer. Since the display panel 700A is of bottom emissiontype, the anode may be formed of a transparent conductive layer and thecathode may be formed of a metal material. In the display panel 700Ashown in FIG. 7A, light emitted from the organic light emitting elementis reflected by the anode and emitted toward a second or rear surface704 of the first substrate 710 on which the TFT is disposed.

The second substrate 730 is disposed on the display unit 720 to beopposite to the first substrate 710. The second substrate 730 serves asan encapsulation plate to protect the display unit 720. Unlike thedisplay panel 100A shown in FIG. 1A through FIG. 1F, the plurality oflink lines 760 needs to be disposed on a top surface of the secondsubstrate 730. Thus, second substrate 730 may not be an encapsulationlayer formed by coating an organic material or an inorganic material butmay be formed of preferably high-hardness glass, metal foil, and plasticfilm.

Referring to FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B, the plurality of signal lines 750 aredisposed on the top surface 702 of the first substrate 710. Theplurality of link lines 760 are disposed on a first or top surface 706of the second substrate 730. Further, the plurality of side lines 770are disposed on side surfaces 708, 710 of the first substrate 710 andthe second substrate 730. The plurality of side lines 770 are disposedto cover the rear surface 704 of the first substrate 710, the sidesurface 708 of the first substrate 710, the side surfaces of theplurality of signal lines 750, the side surface 709 of the secondsubstrate 730, and ends of the plurality of link lines 760 disposed onthe top surface 706 of the second substrate 730. That is, the pluralityof side lines 770 are disposed to continuously cover the display panel700A from the rear surface 704 of the first substrate 710 to theplurality of link lines 760 on the top surface 706 of the secondsubstrate 730.

Referring to FIG. 7A through FIG. 7D, the display panel 700A included inthe multi-panel organic light emitting display device 7000 according toan embodiment of the present disclosure is of bottom emission type. Evenin this configuration, various drivers such as the G-IC or the D-IC anda PCB are disposed on the top surface of the second substrate 730 thatprotects the display unit 720 instead of on the non-active area NA.Thus, the non-active area NA can be reduced. As a result, with theabove-described configuration, a bezel area of the display panel 700Acan be reduced.

Hereafter, a link structure between a side line and a signal line or alink line will be described.

FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B are schematic cross-sectional views provided toexplain a link structure between a side line and a signal line in amulti-panel organic light emitting display device including a topemission display panel.

The display panel 800A shown in FIG. 8A has a structure in which thereis no step between ends of a first substrate 810A and a second substrate830A. Thus, side surfaces of a plurality of lines 850A disposed betweenthe first substrate 810A and the second substrate 830A are disposed onthe same plane with side surfaces of the first substrate 810A and thesecond substrate 830A. If there is no step between the ends of the firstsubstrate 810A and the second substrate 830A, a contact area C8A betweena side line 870A and a signal line 850A has a size equal to a height d1of the signal line 850A times a width of the signal line 850A. That is,the contact area C8A between the side line 870A and the signal line 850Ais only a side surface of the signal line 850A. Thus, a currenttransferred to the signal line 850A through the side line 870A may notbe sufficient in certain applications.

However, in the display panel 800B shown in FIG. 8B, a first substrate810B protrudes relative to a second substrate 830B. Thus, there is astep 802 between ends of the first substrate 810B and the secondsubstrate 830B. Due to the step 802 between the first substrate 810Brelative to the second substrate 830B, a plurality of signal lines 850Bcan be disposed on the protruded first substrate 810B that are not underthe second substrate 830B. That is, the plurality of signal lines 850Bextend beyond a side surface 804 of the second substrate 830B. In thiscase, top surfaces of the plurality of signal lines 850B are exposed tothe outside and may form first pads PAD1 on the step 802.

In FIG. 8B, a plurality of side lines 870B are disposed to cover theexposed top surfaces of the plurality of signal lines 850B, e.g., thefirst pads PAD1 on the step 802. Thus, a contact area C8B between a sideline 870B and a signal line 850B has a size equal to (the sum of aheight d1 of the signal line 850B plus a length d2 of the exposed topsurface of the signal line 850B) times a width of the signal line 850B.That is, the contact area C8B between the side line 870B and the signalline 850b includes a side surface of the signal line 850B as well as thetop surface of the signal line 850B exposed due to the step 802 betweenthe first substrate 810B and the second substrate 830B. Thus, thecontact area C8B between the side line 870B and the signal line 850B ofthe display panel shown in FIG. 8B is greater than the contact area C8Abetween the side line 870A and the signal line 850A of the display panelshown in FIG. 8A. Due to an increase in the contact area, a currenttransferred to the signal line through the side line can be greatlyincreased as between FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B. The ability to transfer largeramounts of current enables formation of larger organic light emittingdisplay devices.

FIG. 9A and FIG. 9B are schematic cross-sectional views provided toexplain a link structure between the side line 170 and the signal line150 in the multi-panel organic light emitting display device 1000including the bottom emission display panel 100A.

The display panel 900A shown in FIG. 9A has a structure in which thereis no step between ends of a first substrate 910A and a second substrate930A. As described above with reference to FIG. 8A, if there is no stepbetween the ends of the first substrate 910A and the second substrate930A, a contact area C9A between a side line 970A and a signal line 950Ahas a size equal to a height d1 of the signal line 950A times a width ofthe signal line 950A. That is, the contact area C9A between the sideline 970A and the signal line 950A is only a side surface of the signalline 950A. Thus, a current transferred to the signal line 950A throughthe side line 970A may not be sufficient for certain applications, suchas for large organic light emitting displays.

However, in the display panel 900B shown in FIG. 9B, a first substrate910B is protruded relative to a second substrate 930B. Thus, there is astep 902 between ends of the first substrate 910B and the secondsubstrate 930B. Due to the step 902 between the first substrate 910B andthe second substrate 930B, a plurality of signal lines 950B disposed onthe step 902 extend beyond a side surface 904 of the second substrate930B. In this case, top surfaces of the plurality of signal lines 950Bare exposed and form third pads PAD3.

In this embodiment, a plurality of side lines 970B are disposed to coverthe exposed top surfaces of the plurality of signal lines 950B, e.g.,the third pads PAD3. Thus, a contact area C9B between a side line 970Band a signal line 950B has a size equal to (the sum of a height d1 ofthe signal line 950B plus a length d3 of the exposed top surface of thesignal line 950B)×a width of the signal line 950B. That is, the contactarea C9B between the side line 970B and the signal line 950B includes aside surface of the signal line 950B as well as the top surface of thesignal line 950B exposed due to the step 902 between the first substrate910B and the second substrate 930B. Thus, the contact area C9B betweenthe side line 970B and the signal line 950B of the display panel 900Bshown in FIG. 9B is greater than the contact area C9A between the sideline 970A and the signal line 950A of the display panel 900A shown inFIG. 9A. Due to an increase in the contact area, a current transferredto the signal line through the side line can be greatly increased. Anincrease in the current transferred enables formation of large organiclight emitting display devices.

In the embodiments shown in FIG. 9A and FIG. 9B, insulating layer 980A,980B does not extend from beneath the first substrate 910A, 910B to aplurality of link lines 960 on a top surface of the second substrate930A, 930B. Rather, the insulating layer 980A, 980B extends from a sidesurface of the first substrate 910A, 910B to the plurality of link lines960. Thus, a portion of the side surface of the first substrate 910A,910B remains exposed and uncovered by insulating layer 980A, 980B.

The exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure can also bedescribed as follows:

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided amulti-panel organic light emitting display device. The multi-panelorganic light emitting display device comprises a plurality of displaypanels disposed to be adjacent to each other. Each of the plurality ofdisplay panels includes a base substrate including an active area and anon-active area surrounding the active area, a display unit including anorganic light emitting element disposed on a top surface of the basesubstrate, a plurality of signal lines disposed on the top surface ofthe base substrate and electrically connected to the display unit, aplurality of link lines disposed under the base substrate, a pluralityof side lines disposed on a side surface of the base substrate andconnecting the plurality of signal lines and the plurality of linklines, and a driving circuit disposed under the base substrate andelectrically connected to the plurality of link lines.

The plurality of side lines may include a patterned metal layer toconnect the plurality of signal lines and the plurality of link lines,respectively.

The multi-panel organic light emitting display device may furthercomprise an insulating layer covering the plurality of side lines, andthe insulating layer may contain a black material.

The insulating layer may be prepared as a single layer to surround theentire side surface of the base substrate and cover all of the pluralityof side lines.

The insulating layer may include a plurality of insulating patternscorresponding to the plurality of side lines, respectively.

The plurality of link lines and the driving circuit may be disposed on arear surface of the base substrate, and the driving circuit may includeat least one of a gate driving integrated circuit and a data drivingintegrated circuit.

The multi-panel organic light emitting display device may furthercomprise an auxiliary substrate bonded to a lower side of the basesubstrate, and the plurality of side lines may be disposed to cover sidesurfaces of the plurality of signal lines, the base substrate, theauxiliary substrate, and the plurality of link lines.

The driving circuit may include a gate driving integrated circuit and adata driving integrated circuit, and the plurality of link lines and thedriving circuit may be disposed on a rear surface of the auxiliarysubstrate, the plurality of link lines may include a plurality of gatelink lines connected to the gate driving integrated circuit and aplurality of data link lines connected to the data driving integratedcircuit, and the plurality of signal lines may include a plurality ofgate lines electrically connected to the plurality of gate link linesand a plurality of data lines electrically connected to the plurality ofdata link lines.

The driving circuit may include a gate driving integrated circuit and adata driving integrated circuit, and the gate driving integrated circuitmay be disposed on the top surface of the base substrate, and the datadriving integrated circuit may be disposed on a rear surface of theauxiliary substrate, the plurality of link lines may include a pluralityof data link lines connected to the data driving integrated circuit, theplurality of signal lines may include a plurality of data lineselectrically connected to the plurality of data link lines, and theauxiliary substrate may have a smaller size than the base substrate.

The plurality of side lines may be in direct contact with side surfacesof the plurality of signal lines and the plurality of link lines.

The multi-panel organic light emitting display device may furthercomprise an encapsulation substrate disposed on the display unit to beopposite to the base substrate, and the base substrate may be moreprotruded to the outside than the encapsulation substrate and theplurality of signal lines may be disposed on the protruded basesubstrate, and the plurality of side lines may be disposed to be incontact with exposed top surfaces and side surfaces of the plurality ofsignal lines.

The plurality of display panels may include a first display panel and asecond display panel adjacent to each other, and the distance betweenpixels disposed in the first display panel may be equal to the distancebetween outermost adjacent pixels of the first display panela and thesecond display panel.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provideda multi-panel organic light emitting display device. The multi-panelorganic light emitting display device comprises a plurality of displaypanels disposed to be adjacent to each other. Each of the plurality ofdisplay panels includes a base substrate including an active area and anon-active area surrounding the active area, a display unit including anorganic light emitting element disposed on a top surface of the basesubstrate, an encapsulation substrate disposed on the display unit to beopposite to the base substrate, a plurality of signal lines disposed onthe top surface of the base substrate and electrically connected to thedisplay unit, a plurality of link lines disposed on a top surface of theencapsulation substrate and connected to a driving circuit, and aplurality of side lines disposed on a side surface of the base substrateand connecting the plurality of signal lines and the plurality of linklines.

The display unit may include a thin film transistor disposed on the basesubstrate and an organic light emitting element disposed on the thinfilm transistor, and the organic light emitting element may include ananode made of a transparent conductive material, a plurality of organiclayers including an emitting layer, and a cathode made of a metalmaterial.

The plurality of side lines may include a patterned metal layer toconnect the plurality of signal lines and the plurality of link lines,respectively.

The multi-panel organic light emitting display device may furthercomprise an insulating layer covering the plurality of side lines, andthe insulating layer may contain a black material.

The plurality of side lines may be in direct contact with side surfacesof the plurality of signal lines and the plurality of link lines.

The base substrate may be more protruded to the outside than theencapsulation substrate and the plurality of signal lines may bedisposed on the protruded base substrate, and the plurality of sidelines may be disposed to be in contact with exposed top surfaces andside surfaces of the plurality of signal lines.

The plurality of display panels may include a first display panel and asecond display panel adjacent to each other, and the distance betweenpixels disposed in the first display panel may be equal to the distancebetween outermost adjacent pixels of the first display panela and thesecond display panel.

Although the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure have beendescribed in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, thepresent disclosure is not limited thereto and may be embodied in manydifferent forms without departing from the technical concept of thepresent disclosure. Therefore, the exemplary embodiments of the presentdisclosure are provided for illustrative purposes only but not intendedto limit the technical concept of the present disclosure. The scope ofthe technical concept of the present disclosure is not limited thereto.Therefore, it should be understood that the above-described exemplaryembodiments are illustrative in all aspects and do not limit the presentdisclosure. The protective scope of the present disclosure should beconstrued based on the following claims, and all the technical conceptsin the equivalent scope thereof should be construed as falling withinthe scope of the present disclosure.

The various embodiments described above can be combined to providefurther embodiments. All of the U.S. patents, U.S. patent applicationpublications, U.S. patent applications, foreign patents, foreign patentapplications and non-patent publications referred to in thisspecification and/or listed in the Application Data Sheet areincorporated herein by reference, in their entirety. Aspects of theembodiments can be modified, if necessary to employ concepts of thevarious patents, applications and publications to provide yet furtherembodiments.

These and other changes can be made to the embodiments in light of theabove-detailed description. In general, in the following claims, theterms used should not be construed to limit the claims to the specificembodiments disclosed in the specification and the claims, but should beconstrued to include all possible embodiments along with the full scopeof equivalents to which such claims are entitled. Accordingly, theclaims are not limited by the disclosure.

1. A multi-panel organic light emitting display device, comprising: a plurality of display panels positioned adjacent to each other, wherein each of the plurality of display panels includes: a first substrate including an active area and a non-active area surrounding the active area, the first substrate including a first surface opposite a second surface; a display unit including an organic light emitting element on the first surface of the first substrate; a plurality of signal lines on the first surface of the first substrate and electrically connected to the display unit; a plurality of link lines on the second surface of the first substrate; a plurality of side lines on a side surface of the first substrate and electrically connected between corresponding ones of the plurality of signal lines and the plurality of link lines; and a driving circuit on the second surface of the first substrate and electrically connected to the plurality of link lines.
 2. The multi-panel organic light emitting display device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of side lines includes a patterned metal layer, the patterned metal layer electrically connected between the plurality of signal lines and the plurality of link lines, respectively.
 3. The multi-panel organic light emitting display device according to claim 1, further comprising: an insulating layer covering the plurality of side lines, wherein the insulating layer contains a black colored material.
 4. The multi-panel organic light emitting display device according to claim 3, wherein the insulating layer is a single layer extending along an entire side surface of the first substrate over all of the plurality of side lines.
 5. The multi-panel organic light emitting display device according to claim 3, wherein the insulating layer includes a plurality of insulating patterns corresponding to the plurality of side lines, respectively.
 6. The multi-panel organic light emitting display device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of link lines and the driving circuit are disposed on the second surface of the first substrate, and the driving circuit includes at least one of a gate driving integrated circuit and a data driving integrated circuit.
 7. The multi-panel organic light emitting display device according to claim 1, further comprising: a second substrate coupled to the second surface of the first substrate, the second substrate having a first surface opposite a second surface, wherein the plurality of side lines are on a portion of side surfaces of the plurality of signal lines, the first substrate, the second substrate, and the plurality of link lines.
 8. The multi-panel organic light emitting display device according to claim 7, wherein the driving circuit includes a gate driving integrated circuit and a data driving integrated circuit, wherein the plurality of link lines and the driving circuit are disposed on the second surface of the second substrate, and the plurality of link lines includes a plurality of gate link lines connected to the gate driving integrated circuit and a plurality of data link lines connected to the data driving integrated circuit, and the plurality of signal lines includes a plurality of gate lines electrically connected to the plurality of gate link lines and a plurality of data lines electrically connected to the plurality of data link lines.
 9. The multi-panel organic light emitting display device according to claim 7, wherein the driving circuit includes a gate driving integrated circuit and a data driving integrated circuit, and wherein the gate driving integrated circuit is disposed on the top surface of the first substrate, and the data driving integrated circuit is disposed on a rear surface of the second substrate, the plurality of link lines includes a plurality of data link lines connected to the data driving integrated circuit, the plurality of signal lines includes a plurality of data lines electrically connected to the plurality of data link lines, and the second substrate has a size that is smaller than a size of the first substrate.
 10. The multi-panel organic light emitting display device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of side lines are in direct contact with side surfaces of the plurality of signal lines and the plurality of link lines.
 11. The multi-panel organic light emitting display device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of display panels includes a first display panel and a second display panel adjacent to each other, and a distance between adjacent pixels in the first display panel is equal to a distance between outermost pixels of the first display panel and the second display panel.
 12. A multi-panel organic light emitting display device, comprising: a plurality of display panels positioned adjacent to each other, wherein each of the plurality of display panels includes: a base substrate including an active area and a non-active area surrounding the active area, the base substrate including a top surface opposite a rear surface and a side surface extending between the top surface and the rear surface; a display unit including an organic light emitting element on the top surface of the base substrate; an encapsulation substrate on the display unit, the encapsulation substrate having a top surface opposite a rear surface; a plurality of signal lines disposed on the top surface of the base substrate and electrically connected to the display unit; a plurality of link lines disposed on the top surface of the encapsulation substrate; a driving circuit connected to the plurality of link lines; and a plurality of side lines disposed on the side surface of the base substrate and electrically coupled between the plurality of signal lines and the plurality of link lines.
 13. The multi-panel organic light emitting display device according to claim 12, wherein the display unit includes a thin film transistor disposed on the base substrate and an organic light emitting element disposed on the thin film transistor, and the organic light emitting element includes an anode made of a transparent conductive material, a plurality of organic layers including an emitting layer, and a cathode made of a metal material.
 14. The multi-panel organic light emitting display device according to claim 12, wherein the plurality of side lines are in direct contact with side surfaces of the plurality of signal lines and the plurality of link lines.
 15. The multi-panel organic light emitting display device according to claim 12, wherein the base substrate includes a step protruding from the base substrate relative to the encapsulation substrate and the plurality of signal lines are disposed on the step, and the plurality of side lines are in contact with exposed top surfaces and side surfaces of the plurality of signal lines.
 16. The multi-panel organic light emitting display device according to claim 12, wherein the plurality of display panels includes a first display panel and a second display panel adjacent to each other, and a distance between pixels disposed in the first display panel is equal to a distance between outermost adjacent pixels of the first display panel and the second display panel.
 17. A display panel, comprising: a first substrate having an active area and a non-active area and a step, the non-active area including the step; a display unit on the active area of the first substrate; a second substrate on the display unit and having a side surface, the step protruding beyond the side surface of the second substrate; and a plurality of signal lines on the non-active area of the first substrate, each of the plurality of signal lines electrically connected to the display unit.
 18. The display panel of claim 17 further comprising: a plurality of link lines on the first substrate, the plurality of link lines extending from the non-active area to the active area; a plurality of side lines electrically coupled between the plurality of link lines and the plurality of signal lines; and an insulating layer extending over the plurality of side lines.
 19. The display panel of claim 18 further comprising: a driving circuit on the first substrate, the driving circuit electrically coupled to the plurality of link lines.
 20. The display panel of claim 17 further comprising: a third substrate coupled to the first substrate; a plurality of link lines on the third substrate; a plurality of side lines electrically coupled between the plurality of link lines and the plurality of signal lines; and a driving circuit on the third substrate electrically coupled to the plurality of link lines. 